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How To Get Local Channels On An Amazon Fire TV Stick

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The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a great device that allows you to stream all of your favorite content right to your TV without having to pay for cable. While streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video offer extensive content libraries, they don’t offer local channels. Hulu does offer local streaming through ‘Hulu + Live TV’ but at an expensive cost. Fortunately, there are still a few ways you can get local channels on your Amazon Fire TV Stick. Keep reading to learn how you can quickly and easily access local content without cable.


Use an Antenna and Media Server Hardware/Software to Get Local Channels

The most straightforward way to get local channels on your Fire TV Stick (or Cube) is to switch to a digital antenna. Gaining access to your local news and weather can be challenging when you’re streaming on the web, but by switching to an antenna, you can watch all of your standard local channels without any additional fees or steps.

This setup requires a digital antenna and a receiver capable of Wi-Fi sharing, such as an Amazon Recast device, a PC antenna card, or an HDHomeRun receiver. You can also use an antenna with third-party software that has media server capabilities, such as Plex. Regardless of what method you choose, all options need to connect to your Wi-Fi network, and the Firestick needs to be set to mirroring mode.


Use Amazon Fire TV Recast to Get Local Channels on a Firestick

If you’re new to Fire OS, picking up Amazon’s Fire TV Recast is the way to go. Recast works with Amazon’s TV platform, but it also includes a built-in antenna input on the back of the box. You can place the Recast device anywhere you want to if the antenna can attach to it. That’s it! Fire TV Recast is a bit pricey but well worth the upgrade over the standard Fire TV Stick 4K if you’re new to the platform. The device works with any version or release of Fire TV Sticks and other Fire TV devices.



Use a Plex Media Server to Get Local Channels on a Fire Stick

If you already have a Fire Stick but don’t want to spend the money on a Fire TV Recast, you aren’t totally out of luck. A custom-built Plex Media Server can stream broadcasts picked up by an antenna to any device with the Plex app, including your Fire Stick.

Setting up a Plex server isn’t as easy as just picking up a Fire TV Recast, but it’s not impossible. Check out this tutorial on how to connect your Plex server to your Fire TV stick. As with using Amazon’s Fire Recast, a Plex-compatible tuner and any antenna grant you access to every local channel broadcast in your area that you receive. It’s free once you’ve paid for the antenna and the tuner.


Use a PC Tuner or USB Tuner and an Antenna to Get Local Channels on a Fire TV Stick

Using an internal tuner card or a USB tuner dongle on your PC and an antenna, you can mirror or cast to your Fire TV Stick or Cube.

  1. On your Fire TV Stick, press and hold down the Home button of the remote to access the Quick Settings Menu.
  2. Choose Mirroring.
  3. A mirroring screen appears, telling you that the device is ready for a signal from the mirroring device.
  4. On your Windows 10 PC, click on the notification icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
  5. Select Project or Connect.
  6. Choose your Fire TV Stick or Cube from the list of available devices and start mirroring your PC’s display.
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